The Kyoshi Warriors
by AtoMaki
Summary: A character introduction story for my future fanfics. Set two years before the events of ATLA, Kyoshi Island is under threat by a mysterious saboteur. The young Kyoshi Warriors and their instructor try to hunt him down, but little they know that they are approaching a fulcrum point, what will decide the fate of Kyoshi Island and will push them to their very limits.
1. Part 1 - Instructor Tamara

The newest case was even more miserable than the pervious one. This time, the target was the dry docks of the fishermen, and the perpetrator tried to use blasting jelly to blow up the small building. Actually, there were so many explosives stacked in the middle of the main repair bay, that they could potentially blow up half of the harbour with ease.

It was late spring, the middle of the fishing season, so the destruction would be terrible, especially if it goes off during dawn, when the fishermen sail out. But it was middle morning already, and the barrels still sat there, just as how the would-be saboteur placed them.

Instructor Tamara didn't have to open the barrels to know why the blasting jelly didn't explode. The thick, dull smell and the small blackish pool around the explosives were obvious enough: the blasting jelly was still in its raw, unrefined state. Technically, it was completely harmless as it would need a special detonator to trigger the explosion. A normal wick and fire won't do it.

It was an amateurish sabotage attempt by all means, but for a place like Kyoshi Island, even such a poor event was a terrible disaster. During the past five weeks, four sabotage attempts had been made. All of them targeted important places: the shipyard, the watchtower that overlooked the nearby seas, the island's only blacksmith workshop and now the dry docks. Fortunately, these attempts did very little actual damage, but it was their nature that was mostly disturbing.

They were preparing an invasion. With all the experience she got during her fifty-nine years long lifetime, she could feel it in her bones.

So far, Kyoshi Island managed to stay neutral in the war between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, but it seemed that their luck is running out. And to make things worse, the island's defence force currently only compromised seven young girls and Tamara herself: the Kyoshi Warriors. Of course, there were other Kyoshi Warriors, but they were at another place, far away from here.

All in all, the situation in which Tamara found herself was rather troublesome. But it wasn't entirely lost. She knew that she could save the island.

She only needed to strike first.


	2. Part 2 - Tamara and the Novices

On her way from the harbour to the dojo, Tamara had enough time to rethink the state of things. First and foremost, she had to find the saboteur. This should be pretty easy given the small size of the island. Tamara could even muster the proper personnel for the task.

The Kyoshi Warrior dojo was a rather big building. Its tall roof and brick-shaped structure mimicked the general design philosophy of the other buildings on the island, even though it served a very unique purpose.

Tamara should have interrupted the morning exercises, but for her great surprise, she has only found one girl training. The other six sat in the middle of the single room of the dojo, excitedly whispering amongst each other. They all wore their uniforms and armour, but not their traditional war paint. With their instructor entering the dojo, all girls turned towards Tamara, so she could glance over them to have a basic idea about what's going on.

She first caught Suki, the leader of the group. With her thirteen years, she was the oldest of the girls, even though she had enjoyed her seniority for only four days by now. Her short, thick auburn hair and soft, mild facial features were painfully familiar for Tamara, but the big blue eyes always reminded her to not talk about it in front of the girl. Suki was the best Kyoshi Warrior, her martial prowess was only matched by her courage and goodness. She also kept the other girls in check, leading by example and with care.

Okako sat on Suki's right, as any second-in-command should do. Her heart-shaped face, big green eyes and small, stumpy nose made her especially beautiful, and Tamara knew well that behind the pretty looks there was an equally nice personality. Okako was the heart of the group, a thoughtful and caring girl who could always find a common tone with the others, and was quick to smooth away differences or act as a mediator.

On the other side of Suki sat Asha, the youngest Kyoshi Warrior. She was only eleven years old, and she arrived at Kyoshi Island just four years ago. The other girls accepted her quickly, even though Asha was a distrustful, savage girl who often reminded Tamara of a little, shy animal. Asha was pretty hostile to people - especially strangers - and she could only loosen up with the other Kyoshi Warriors. It was quite awkward, as Asha had a sweet, cheerful side too, and other girls around her age often tried to seek her company, even though they were always repulsed.

In front of Suki sat Pema, and from this, Tamara quickly realized that whatever agitated the girls, it has something to do with boys. Even though she barely turned twelve, Pema was already a little temptress, just as a girl at her age could be. Her big, softly rounded face and large, green eyes made her distinguishably pretty even amongst her fellow Kyoshi Warriors, so she could cause some very embarrassing situation even for the older boys. And behind the good looks, Pema was also one of the smartest girls, even though she often used her considerable intellect for silly things – like preying on the boys.

Nirmal sat a little bit further away from the group. She was the most similar to Tamara with her sharper, narrower and more definite facial features and small hazel eyes – some people even mistaken her to be Tamara's real daughter. Nirmal was the healer of the Kyoshi Warriors, a sober and intelligent girl with a serious, no-nonsense attitude. Her distance from the other girls showed that the topic was something crazy.

Sprawling between the girls laid Kitara. She paid little attention to the conversation, and was more focused on trying to bind the lower end of Suki's robe to Pema's sleeve. Kitara was easily the most cheerful warrior, a girl who always had something silly in her mind. Her sharp face, bright, blue eyes and wide smile mirrored her personality perfectly – Tamara often had a feeling that she is looking into a well of infinite happiness when she looked at Kitara.

Finally, she drifted her sight away from the group to look at the odd girl who was training alone. She was Kei, the second oldest girl, and by far the most… complicated. With her strong physique, wide facial features and narrow, black eyes she was a quite intimidating sight for a twelve year old. And it wasn't just her matching personality that really made her the bully of the group but the fact that Kei had powers. Powers that gave her superhuman strength, resilience and speed, and while such things weren't alien to Tamara – the advanced Kyoshi Warrior training also included something very similar – but Kei pushed these things beyond Tamara's wildest anticipations.

These seven, young girls formed the novice cadre of the Kyoshi Warriors. They were all orphans, saved from a sinister fate and taken to the spiritual guardianship of Avatar Kyoshi. Tamara herself raised four of them: Okako, Nirmal, Peman and Kitara were with her since their infancy. Suki was living with chief Oyaji, the leader of the island. Since she got to the island, Asha lives with Bipin, the forester and his wife Sesi. Kei was accommodated by Moritha, who supplied the fishermen with food. From all the girls, only Asha and Kei knew their real family but Kei has already lost them in the shipwreck that brought her to the island and as Tamara heard, Asha wished that she had never known them in the first place. For the rest of the girls, real parents were something akin of an unreachable mystery: they sometimes asked questions, but they didn't really mind their absence. And in some cases, Tamara prayed to Kyoshi that it would remain that way.

"Instructor Tamara! Instructor Tamara!" Okako jumped up and rushed to Tamara. "You can't believe what happened with us!"

"Guess I can't." Noticed Tamara dryly. "Why aren't you training?"

The girls exchanged glances for this question. For a very long moment, the only answer what Tamara got was an awkward silence, but ultimately, Suki provided the explanation.

"We were interrupted by someone." she began.

"He is a boy!" continued Okako.

"And he has been messing around us for almost a week!" whispered Pema cautiously.

"He is just Takumi trying to confess his love to Suki." explained Nirmal. Suki blushed and shot an angry glance at Nirmal. Takumi was the son of Oyaji, and while Tamara was aware the little love affair between Suki and him, he was a far more straightforward guy than this.

"He isn't Takumi you silly! We caught him this morning at the dojo! And he was much bigger than him!" Added Kitara. Now this began to sound interesting.

"We are being stalked!" squealed Asha excitedly.

"You girls are stupid." replied Kei grumblingly.

And with that, the girls burst up, flooding Tamara with all kinds of theories, facts, descriptions, wishes and fears. It was a maelstrom of words and Tamra could just barely get any real information from the shouting.  
Her first though was of course that the mysterious stalker was the saboteur. It sounded rather logical that he would now try to target the Kyoshi Warriors.

"…and then we heard him scaling the roof, and when he reached the roof window, Kei tried to storm him, but she could find nothing, even though she was just a blur she moved that fast!" She stood right in the front of Tamara and Okako still tried to shout the other girls down.

"He is super fast, just like Kei!" concluded Asha.

"Nobody is faster than me!" protested Kei. "He must have the ability to turn invisible!"  
It was clear that the girls' imagination ran wild on this case.

"…and Oyaji told me that in the legend, the man was cursed to turn into a platypus-bear every night. And he could cure this only by stealing young girls!" explained Suki.

"Like us!" screamed Kitara.

"And after he steals us, he will cook us and eat us, so he can live as a normal man for a year, a month, a week and a day!"

"I don't want to be cooked!"

The shouting match quickly turned into a squabble, as each girl tried to push her own version of the events, usually contradicting with the others' theories, common sense and often themselves too.

Even though it seemed rather tangled, Tamara only needed a few minutes of listening to unfold the true story. And the essence of this whole thing was that… her girls were maturing. It was especially noticeable in the case of Suki and Pema, but Nirmal and Kei were also scratching the surface. It was somewhat hard to confess, but Tamara began to see the patterns: the girls were getting an interest in boys, and they projected it onto this "stalker". This was a fairly familiar story for Tamara, from her own childhood. Even though she and her warrior-sisters started it with a much crazier thing. The memory made Tamara giggle, and this immediately silenced the girls.

"It isn't funny Instructor Tamara! We are in danger!" whimpered Okako.

"Talk for yourself, softie!" replied Kei sharply. "If he tries to do something with me, I'll rip his arm off!" She looked through the other girls, stopping at Nirmal. "Like this!" And with a wicked grin on her face, Kei jumped forward, roughly grabbed Nirmal's right arm and forcefully twisted it backwards, making the poor girl scream in pain. The others were quick to disperse trying to avoid the rather one-sided struggle between the two.

"Leave her alone Kei." Tamara's words ended the fight instantly. Kei let Nirmal go with a rough move, pushing her into Asha.

"We'll continue this later." She hissed towards her victim, making Nirmal crawl away in panic.  
Tamara moved into the middle of the group and sat down amongst her girls. Pema immediately took the chance and snuggled up to her. The other Kyoshi Warriors also drew close, eager to know their instructor's opinion.

But Tamara's thoughts left this silly "stalker" case a long ago. Now she was focusing on her plan to take out the Kyoshi Warriors to hunt down the saboteur. The original idea, that they will simply scour the island together was foiled by the girls. In their current, paranoid, jumpy state, they would be much more trouble than they were worth. They would just attack every shadow, alerting the real prey before Tamara could catch his trail.

But maybe she could turn this to her own advantage. If the girls startle the saboteur, then he would only have one place to run. And Tamara could wait for him there.

"If you girls are really so worried about this… stalker of yours, then I think we could pass today's training and look after your mysterious boy instead." The girls' mood got better in an instant. "He should have a hideout somewhere, so you should begin to find it first."

"Why should he have a hideout?" asked Nirmal confusedly. Tamara just pinched her face, smiling.

"You are so cute. Creepy people like him always have hideouts."

"Instructor Tamara is right. Don't be silly Nirmal, he has to have a hideout!" added Pema in a scolding tone. Nirmal just shrugged, and on her behalf, her question was answered.

Tamara leaned back a little bit to have a better view of her girls. They seemed to be ready for the task, drawing confidence from the support of Tamara. She was pretty sure that their determination would hold out even after she left them. Her Kyoshi Warriors were strong, they only yet needed a little push. Tamara was really proud to them.

"Okay, end of small talk!" she began, urging the girls to get themselves together. "You have to split up to scour the whole island effectively." She stood up and helped Pema to do so too. The others also began to get on their feet. "Suki! Organize three search parties. Each of these groups will look after the hideout in the island's eastern, western and northern part, respectively." The island's southern part was one huge bay, and Tamara hoped that the saboteur was hiding somewhere on the land.

Suki just nodded, and turned to the girls.

"Okako! Pema! You are on the western side!" The two girls scrambled to carry out the command. They quickly got their war fans and rushed out from the dojo. "Nirmal! Kitara! The east is yours!"  
Kitara didn't go for her war fans. Tamara trained Kitara to be the weapon specialist of the team, so she was familiar with a much greater variety of weapons than the other girls. She waddled to Tamara, with an innocent expression on her face.

"Can I have a few things from the box?" she asked. Tamara just smiled. Kitara really wanted to play the big Kyoshi Warrior.

"Why not… You are big enough to wield those weapons." Kitara cheered up and ran to the large, dark green box in the right side of the dojo.

The box itself was without any characteristic feature, just a bulky item that seemingly served no special purpose. In fact, this box was the Kyoshi Warrior's weapon cache. Only the war fans were allowed to be carried by the girls, everything else was stowed into this box. And so far, only Kitara had a chance to actually see into it.

Tamara stepped to the box and carefully opened it. The heavy, reinforced top only revealed a black veil, but some telltale shapes were identifiable even though this thick cloth.

"So what do you need?"

"A bow and twenty arrows…" Tamara got out the small composite bow and handed it over to Kitara. She packed twenty training arrows with blunt arrowheads next to it.

"…two bolas…" Tamara gave those to Kitara too, but the girl suddenly stopped. When Tamara looked up to her, she realized that Kitara was just holding the weapons excitedly, looking at the box with bright, desirous eyes.

"And what else?" asked Tamara thoughtfully.

"Can I have the sword too?" spilled Kitara after a long silence.  
Tamara drew out the asked weapon from the box. The Kyoshi Warrior longsword wasn't a child's toy by any means. Specifically designed for slicing, its slightly curved, extremely sharp blade could cause terrible accidents in an unwary hand. But Kitara always used it with caution and respect during her swordsmanship lessons, so Tamara could trust her with wielding it. She offered the sword to the girl.

"Handle it with care, Kitara. A hasty move and people will die." Tamara's serious voice changed Kitara's silly expressions to something much more solemn.

"Thank you instructor Tamra." she said, and ceremoniously took the sword from her instructor. The desired weapon in her possession, she quickly geared up and ran out from the dojo with Nirmal close behind her.


	3. Part 3 - Okako and Pema

Pema and Okako ducked back behind the roof window. After they left the dojo, the made a sharp turn and snuck up to the dojo's roof to gather some "useful information". They both knew that Kitara would ask for the sword, and the roof window had a perfect angle to the box. They saw everything they wanted: how Tamara opened and closed the box, and from what section she took the sword.

Roughly a half year ago, Tamara gave a few books to Pema to study. They were fairly boring, all of them focused on things like mechanics, architecture and engineering. Back then, Pema – with a somewhat disgruntled enthusiasm – gave those books a chance, and now she was really proud to herself for her past decision.

Because with all the irrelevant matter and fluff, she also learnt an important thing: how to pick locks. She actually became the master of the topic, and Moritha's secretly breached delicacies storeroom was a rather strong testimony of this.

They jumped down from the roof, making less noise than a falling leaf while doing so. They made a run into the forest next to the dojo and stopped only when they were sure that Tamara didn't catch them. They were heavily panting both from the rather long run and from excitement. For a long moment, they just glared into each other's eyes.

Then suddenly, Pema stiffened her pose, affectedly mimicking Kitara's moves as she took the sword.

"Look at me, I'm Kitara, and I spent five more hours with sword training than you, so Instructor Tamara totally trusts me to carry this sword!" She made a slashing move with her hand, hitting Okako on the shoulder. "Even though I'm the goofiest girl of the group and I'll probably spend the rest of my day playing with that sword, doing silly tricks and enjoying the envy of my sisters!"

Okako just laughed. Pema's Kitara impersonation was hilarious, but somewhat unfair.

"Easy Pema, Kitara can have that sword for all I care. We'll have our own swords anyway!"

"Oh yes." said Pema with a sinister smile on her face. "Just pretend that we are searching. We'll head back home around the early afternoon, because I need some tools, and then…"

"Then we will go to the dojo and get those swords!" As Okako ended her sentence, Pema's smile turned into a frown.

"Nirmal was right in both cases. Out stalker is really just Takumi trying to get close to Suki while avoiding Kei. And he doesn't have a hideout."

"And Instructor Tamara knows this." added Okako, and Pema nodded.

"She just wanted to be done with us. Because of that saboteur case… How did Chief Oyaji call that guy?"

"The Firestarter!" giggled Okako.

"Oh yes, Chief Oyaji and his silly nicknames." grumbled Pema. "So mom wants to catch him and she…" Pema stopped as she noticed Okako's doubting smile. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You called Instructor Tamara 'mom' again."

"So what?"

"Nothing." backed down Okako. From the four girls who lived with her, only Pema called Tamara 'mom'. Of course, Tamara served as a mother figure for all the girls, including Suki, Kei and Asha, but they all knew that she isn't their real mother. Okako believed that Pema struggled to accept this, but this whole mother thing was a rather tangled topic amongst the girls.

Technically their mother was Avatar Kyoshi, but it was just some sort of spiritual connection – or at least that's how Tamara explained it – since Avatar Kyoshi was dead for almost two-hundred years; then, they had Tamara, who acted as a physical mother, although as a Kyoshi Warrior herself with a same background as the girls, Okako could only see her kind of like an older sister; and finally, they had their real, biological mothers, but most of the girls never met them, and even who did couldn't rely on them. And above all this, some girls had additional women who wanted to be their mothers: Moritha for Kei, Sesi for Asha and that mysterious woman for Nirmal who taught her the art of healing.

The Kyoshi Warriors really had an overabundance of mothers, and still, Pema was the only one who could refer to someone as 'mom'.

The two girls remained silent for a very long time. Finally, Okako broke the silence.

"Why should we even pretend that we are searching? We could just stay here."

"This 'Firestarter' is a real thing." answered Pema dryly. "I highly doubt that he is camping in the wilderness, but we should make sure that he isn't really hiding around here. And I also have to find someone before we get the swords to give him directions."

"Oh. And what will happen after we get the swords?" Pema just smiled. It was one of her wicked smiles, so Okako knew that she has a real plan.

"I have recruited a little… assistance to cover up the mysterious wandering of the swords." explained Pema confidently. "So we could go and help Tamara in her investigation without fear from scolding."

"You say that we will help her to hunt down the bad guy?"

"With those swords, we will be invincible!"

The girls laughed, then began to walk down towards the western shores of the island. They didn't notice the big shadow what slipped out from a bush a few meters behind them, quickly merging into the darkness of the forest, heading towards the opposite route.


	4. Part 4 - Suki, Kei and Asha

Suki was infuriated. She tried to keep her feelings for herself, but she could already feel her face turning red from rage. She could see the same on Kei, but the other girl was angry for a whole different reason.

Tamara locked the box back up, and with that, Suki's hope to get a real sword. Originally, she arranged with Kitara that she wouldn't request a sword, so Suki would have a slight chance to actually get one. It was her big dream since her first sword lesson, and the training with those awkward wooden training swords just boosted her desire. So Kitara's action stabbed Suki right in her heart. Even though they arranged the sword thing two weeks ago, for a whole different occasion. But Suki didn't get her sword then either, so it was still a very mean thing from Kitara to crush this chance.

"Good job picking the teams, Suki." said Tamara admiringly. "Can you explain me why you arranged the groups this way?"

"Okako is my lieutenant, dutiful enough to keep back Pema from doing stupid things. They also have similar fighting skills, so they form a balanced pair. Nirmal is the second worst fighter, but she is the smartest of us. Kitara is the second best combatant, but she is rather goofy. It came quite natural to pair them up." And Kitara now has a sword too, added Suki in her thoughts. "Asha is the weakest of us, so I had to put them into the largest and strongest group that is me and Kei."

"Wise decisions Suki. You are growing into a very capable leader of your Kyoshi Warriors." Tamara's praising words somewhat soothed Suki's mood. But they were just fuelling Kei's anger.

"What?" yelled Kei. "She just put those groups together randomly!" Tamara just smiled, and Suki took it as a sign that she didn't believe it. And that was good, since the accusation was pretty close to the truth.

"Calm down Kei." From her voice, it was clear that Tamara was amused by Kei's outburst. "If the groups are really random, then why did she keep you in her group?" Her instructor's question left Kei speechless. She bashfully buried her neck in her shoulders, powerlessly enduring the giggles of Suki and Asha.

Tamara picked up her own war fans and headed towards the door of the dojo.

"Okay girls, start searching. Be very careful out there, and if you encounter any problems, then warn me first!" And with that, Tamara left, leaving the three girls on their own.

As she disappeared from their sight, Suki's thoughts quickly returned to the sword. She actually had one, final chance to get the desired weapon: Kei. The box was tough, but Suki saw tougher things crushed into pieces by the power of the girl. And if she could somehow convince her to rip the top of the box open…

And it wouldn't be too hard to ask her either. Back when Kei arrived at Kyoshi Island nearly eight years ago, Suki was the first who accepted her and pretty much she was the one who helped her to integrate into the group. Since then, Kei had a special affection towards Suki, what Suki mostly identified with some sort of strong but rough sisterly love. Sometimes it was pretty weird – like how Kei regularly protected her from Takumi, beating up the boy badly whenever he tried to get close to Suki – but it also ensured a way to control her.

She carefully approached Kei, who was still in the middle of her failure to discredit Suki. She was pretty sure that she wouldn't get away with this without a fight, but she was ready to go down that road.  
Kei's attack was so fast that Suki didn't have the chance to even see it. One moment, she was turning towards Kei, and in the next, the girl was in front of her and all she could feel is that she is falling to the ground. Suki hit the hard training mattress with her butt, but she was quite used to this and barely noticed the sharp pain.

"I see you have already taken your seat, pumpkin!" started Kei angrily. "That's good, because this will be a rough ride!" And with that, she hurled herself at Suki, trying to hold her down. Suki tried to fight back, but it was completely hopeless. Even though she was more skilled, Kei's strength and speed was inhuman, and she effortlessly swept away Suki's defence. They rolled towards the right a few times then they rolled towards the left, and finally ended up at the door of the dojo. This wrestling was only enjoyable to Asha, who just loved to witness any and all clash between the two.

Kei grabbed Suki's head and started to repeatedly knock it to the door's frame.

"Now, show me what you got, great leader!" panted Kei, clearly enjoying the situation. But her delight ended quickly, as Suki found the rope of the door's screen and dropped the heavy sheeting onto Kei's head. The girl screamed up from the surprise, and released Suki's head. She used the opportunity to wrap the screen around Kei's head and lacking a better idea, she gave her a headbutt.

It felt like giving a headbutt to a steel ball. Suki nearly knocked herself out, but somehow managed to remain conscious. At least Kei tumbled down from her, chaotically beating the air as she tried to remove the screen. This gave Suki the opportunity to stagger on her feet and gain some distance from her infuriated warrior sister.

"I'm going to kill you for this!" rattled Kei as she was removing the screen from her head.

She stood up and moved off towards Suki to continue the fight, but she had enough of this. Kei was a brute, an embodiment of raw violence, but Suki has already learnt that if she could somehow manage to survive the physical treatment, then she can easily win any fight against her.

Suki steeled herself, and took an unflinching step towards Kei. She forced out a stern face, even though her head was still jingling from the headbutt.

"Cut it out Kei!"

"Why should I, pumpkin?"

"Because I said so." hissed Suki, starring right into Kei's eyes. This was the hardest part, as standing the gaze of those black eyes was quite disturbing. Especially because of the small green rim around the pupils: it gave the feeling that the blackness somehow crept onto Kei's originally green eyes. Some said that the eyes are the mirror of the soul – if it is really true, then Kei had one malformed display for her soul for sure.

Nevertheless, her efforts worth the prize. Kei tried to stand Suki's stare, but it was clear that the attempt quickly drained away her fighting spirit. This was Kei's weakest area: a battle of wills, a clean-cut, non-physical face-off. She was strong, she was tough, but she shrunk easily under the pressure of a stronger personality. And Suki had one strong personality.

By the time she reached Suki, Kei was defeated. She just bumped into Suki and kept moving away.

"I'm glad that you finally cooled down Kei." noted Suki rigorously. Kei just growled something under her nose as an answer. Suki got it as an 'all right'.

Battles like this one were fairly common between them, and mostly represented the "rough" part of their relationship. But frankly, Suki couldn't really mind them, as she usually emerged victorious and as long as Kei was busy fighting her, at least the rest of the girls were safe. And of course being the only one who is able to defeat the bully of the group benefited Suki in various ways both as the powerful leader of the group and as the highly skilled warrior.

With the real show over, Asha jumped up to fan around both girls. Suki knew that Asha admired them greatly, which wasn't really surprising since Asha was the youngest and weakest Kyoshi Warrior and Suki and Kei were the oldest and strongest, respectively. She first jumped into Kei's back, putting her arms around her neck.

"You are so strong Kei! You are the mightiest warrior of the world!" said Asha joyfully.

"Why not, I like that." Kei was smiling, but her voice was full with spite. "But if you don't stop strangling me, then you will have a first-hand experience about how mighty I am."

"You should totally carry me on your back for the rest of the day!" giggled Asha. She was rather unaffected by Kei's menace.

"Really? And why should I?" It seemed that Kei was just moments away from throwing Asha out from the dojo through the roof window.

"Because you are strong!" Asha waited a little with the punch-line. "And because I said so!" And with that, she rolled down from Kei before the older girl could catch her. Luckily to her, Kei didn't feel the need to waste her superior speed, so she could get away. She ran right to Suki, and hugged her.

"And you are so brave Suki! Beating up Kei and all that!" Kei just stuck out her tongue towards Suki upon hearing the mocking. Maybe she was a bully, but she knew how to lose.

"Come on girls, we should start the searching." said Suki. "The northern part of the island is the biggest, and I want to finish looking before the day is over."

The three girls left the dojo, and headed north, with Suki at the lead, Asha in the middle, and a grumbling Kei at the end. They just barely missed the large shadow that slipped past behind the dojo.


	5. Part 5 - Nirmal and Kitara

The slightly curved blade was made from a special alloy that mixed purified steel with several exotic materials to give extra strength and sharpness to the weapon. It had a bright, bluish hue, and slightly smelled like a fresh fish. It was perfectly burnished and clean from any stain or scratch, even though it had already devastated a deadly opponent of its wielder only a few minutes ago.

"You know…" started Kitara, as she glanced through her mirror-image on the blade. "Instructor Tamara always said that in the blade of the sword, you can see the true nature of things."

Nirmal shrugged. Since they left the dojo one hour ago, Kitara had done nothing else but play with her sword. A few meters down this road, she attacked an "evil bush" and shredded the poor plant into pieces. After her heroic victory, she scattered the remains to the wind, claiming that the bush would not threaten the peace of the island again.

"And what do you see?"

Kitara turned the blade in a diagonal position, so it mirrored as much of her face as it could.

"I see… A great warrior!" Nirmal giggled. She could see this coming from a mile away. "The best swordfighter of the island…"

"Right after Instructor Tamara you mean."

"Oh… Yes. So, the best swordfighter of the island sans Instructor Tamara!" Kitara made a wide slashing move with her sword then whirled it so the sword was in line with her face again. "A daughter of Avatar Kyoshi! And what a pretty daughter she is! She is _wonderbeautyfabulous_!"

"Wonderbeautyfabulous? What word-monstrosity is that?"  
Kitara flung up the sword in the air and expertly caught it mid-fall right at the hilt.

"Wonderbeautyfabulous. It is a real thing. It means that I'm wonderful, beautiful and _fabulousful_!"

"Fabulousful?" raised an eyebrow Nirmal. She was quite used to the silliness what characterized Kitara, but not in this concentration.

"Just keep nitpicking. It still remains the truth. And since we are sisters, it should stand for you too."

"You say I'm wonderbeautyfabulous too?" asked Nirmal mockingly.

"Sure." answered Kitara instantly.

The conversation came to a halt, and the two girls walked silently for a short time. Kitara now tried to balance the sword on its tip with her forefinger. She was quite successful with it, and Nirmal found her attempts really amusing.

"Hey Nirmal, wanna' hear a knock-knock joke?" said Kitara suddenly, still balancing the sword.

"Please don't spare me."

"Okay, are you ready?" Nirmal didn't like the tone, but she nodded.

"Knock-knock."

"Who is it?"

"Lee. And he is raging!"

"Uhm… And?"

"This is the joke!"

Nirmal shook her head confusedly.

"This is not a joke Kitara."

"It would be if you would know Lee."

"But I don't know this Lee."

"Sure, because if you did, then you would be laughing!"

Nirmal had to stop, because this struck her completely unprepared. Kitara nearly walked into her, but she managed to avoid the collision in the last moment. Nirmal looked at her, speechless and disbelievingly. Kitara's huge, goofy grin somewhat smoothed away her confusion. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Then Kitara let the sword slip and put it back into its sheath with a single swift move.

"I know this Lee, and I can't withhold my laughter any longer." she said. "So will you laugh with me?"  
This poked something in Nirmal, and she burst out laughing. Kitara quickly joined, and their echoing laughter roused the surrounding forest.

"Come on, we should go." chuckled Nirmal. "We should finish with the search for the dinner."

Still giggling, Kitara just weaved her hand as a sign of acceptance. The two girls then resumed their search, moving even deeper into the eastern forest of the island.


	6. Part 6 - Tamara and Moritha

After she left the dojo, Tamara's first headed to the central village. There was still an additional thing she should take care of. And to do it, she should talk with Chief Oyaji.

As she walked down to the village, she soon realized that she had company. The woman walked a little bit further behind, but actively tried to catch up with Tamara. She was around her mid-forties, with short, greyish-brown hair and a pretty face that so far remained mostly untouched by age. She was Moritha, Kei's foster-mother and the cook of the island. She probably came from one of her foraging tours, as she was carrying a huge jar. When she finally reached Tamara, she unceremoniously handed over the jar to her. Tamara took it without question, but nearly dropped it, as it was surprisingly heavy for its size.

"Thank you!" sighed Moritha gratefully. "Be careful, it is full with snakewasp honey! If you drop it then those critters will be all over us within a second!" This immediately made Tamara take a better hold on the jar. She had enough bad experiences with those insects, and she didn't want to be richer with another one.

Moritha stretched herself out and rearranged her clothes. Unlike the other islanders, she wore tan-coloured clothes instead of the normal blue. Most of the people explained it with her profession, but Tamara knew well the real reason behind the different colours.

"So, are you looking for something, or did you take a detour just to keep yourself fit?" Moritha let Tamara's mocking comment pass.

"I was looking for Kei to ask her to help. But by some unfortunate event, she wasn't in the dojo doing her usual morning training." Moritha began to continue her walk, forcing Tamara to follow her – and to lend a reluctant hand in carrying the jar. "Then I thought that you took the girls down to the village to finally clean up and repaint the Avatar Kyoshi statue." Now it was up to Tamara to ignore the sting. The statue… It was a very complicated story. "So I decided to follow the road down to the village, but I've only found you."

"I charged the girls to complete a simple task for me. Simple wilderness reconnaissance, basic Kyoshi Warrior training stuff. It is about teamwork in pairs and making individual decisions." Tamara smiled at Moritha, and she could see the other woman blushing. "And about the other thing…"  
Moritha shuddered. Tamara could see that she didn't reckon that Tamara would figure out the real reason she went after her. But Tamara had known about that for almost five days by now, thanks to Kei.

"T-The other thing?" asked Moritha coyly.

"I guess we both know what it is, so I don't need to say it out loudly."

"Yes… I mean no, you don't need to."

"Hey, you shouldn't be so shamefaced with it around me. I'm a Kyoshi Warrior, so for me, it is a natural thing." This loosened up Moritha a little bit. "Anyways, I'll tell Pema to throw a sleepover at our house for all the girls. Say, two days from now. Is that a good time for you?" The proposal turned Moritha's face all red again.

"Yes, that will be fine."

Tamara had the urge to do something, like hug Moritha or at least touch her. It would really help to release the awkwardness of the situation. But she had that stupid jar in her hands, and she had a feeling that Moritha forced it upon her just to avoid such things. However, Tamara still didn't know the full story. She knew the "what" but she was stuck on the "why". She had a theory, and she decided to test it if it is true or not.

"Do you miss her?" she asked from Moritha thoughtfully. Moritha shivered, and bit her lower lips.

"Lately? I miss him a lot." she confessed eventually.

"Because of Kei?"

"She is so much like him. In a smaller package, of course." Both women smiled on this. "Sometimes, it feels like she is him. The same strength… The same tenacity… And other times, she is like the daughter we could never have." Moritha gulped. "And it just made me realize to how much I miss him. I just want to be with him again."

Tamara just sighed. Kei told her that Moritha had showed some pictures of this person to her. Poor girl was completely lost about how this related to anything and why Moritha referred to the woman in the pictures as "him".

"But I'm not her."

"You are similar to him. You know, like, you are a Kyoshi Warrior too and all. And I guess that will be enough."

They reached the section of the road that parted towards the village and the harbour. Moritha lived towards the latter, so she took back the jar and said goodbye to Tamara.

"Two days later! Don't forget it!" shouted Tamara after her as a final reminder. Moritha just smiled, and hastened her steps.

Tamara watched Moritha as she disappeared behind a hill. She went through their dialogue a few times in her mind, and she had to admit, it contained some very important information. But Tamara didn't want to take an advantage on Moritha. As the representative member of the Kyoshi Warrior initiates, she had duties towards people who are connected to the cadre. And they weren't just the novices, but others too. Like the widow of one of her warrior sisters.


	7. Part 7 - Suki, Kei, Asha and Takumi

The weather began to turn bad. So far, the sun was shining all morning, but as the midday approached, massive, dark clouds rose from the horizon, moving towards the island. The front of the storm was a single, dark-blue wall, and it seemed like it was devouring the ocean under it, feeding on power to devastate Kyoshi Island with its terrible might. The wind was already rather strong, especially on the mountain peak where Suki stood.

This was the third highest point of the island, and provided a perfect field of view to most of the island. She could see both the village in the centre of the island and the harbour on the eastern shore. From here, the northern half had little to hide from her, but still, she could find nothing unusual. If this "stalker" really had a hideout, then it isn't in the northern part.

Personally, Suki had little faith in this whole stalker story. It was originally Asha's idea that someone was following them, but she saw danger everywhere, so Suki pretty much ignored the other girl's fears. But Pema didn't and it was suspicious. She and Okako jumped on the story way too fast and soon, and the three girls turned Kei and Kitara to their side as well. Suki tried to calm them down, and she nearly succeeded, but then, Oyaji told her the story of the Platypus-bear Man, and since then, she had to confess, she became rather agitated. It was hardly believable, but the signs still pointed that way. Or at least something equally thrilling.

This reminded her the failed acquisition of the sword again. After their fight in the dojo, Suki got fed up with Kei, and she decided that she wouldn't speak to Kei for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, the other girl probably had something similar in her mind, since she turned her attention to random tree branches and rocks on the road, ripping, breaking, kicking and wrecking everything in her path. She tried to relieve her frustration in pointless destruction, and Suki enjoyed her struggle greatly even though she wanted her to suffer for herself.

She turned back from the peak, and walked down on the slope to the other girls. She heard on the peak that Kei tried to pick a fight with Asha by throwing small rocks at her, but surprisingly, she found them at peace. Kei was busy crumbling a fist-sized rock into dust, and Asha was on the top of a nearby tree, watching the mountainside below.

"Come on girls, we are moving on!" Asha immediately complied, and started to climb down from the tree. Kei was somewhat more reluctant. It seemed like she wanted to say something, but ultimately she remained silent.

Suddenly, a thunder cracked through the air. Its roar startled the girls. Asha screamed and leaped down from the tree. She ran to Suki and turned her towards the tree before jumping behind Kei.

"What was that Asha?" asked Suki, trying to spot whatever alarmed the young girl. She was pretty sure that it wasn't the thunder, but she couldn't see anything peculiar around the tree.

"The stalker!" yelled Kei, and pointed somewhere left to the tree.

"The Platypus-bear Man!" screamed Asha. "I saw him! And he is armed!"

Suki didn't waste time to be surprised, and immediately jumped into action. She drew her war fans and started running right towards the point where Kei pointed. She still couldn't see anything, but she was ready to take on whoever was lurking in that direction.

She reached the tree, and from that position, she has just caught sight of the disappearing figure. He was just below them, roughly a hundred meters away at the end of the flat slope that led to the mountain peak. Suki just barely spotted him as he vanished in the nearby forest. A shadowy man-figure, holding something that closely resembled a hatchet. That was all Suki saw.

But it was everything she needed to see. He was probably stalking the girls for some time, but the thunder startled him too, allowing Asha to spot him. And now he was on the run. Suki didn't want to ruin her chance to get him, so she ran down on the slope, right into the forest. She could hear Kei and Asha doing the same. Four years of extensive athletics training began to show their worth, as the three girls easily moved over the rough terrain. Their prey was far less agile, and after about five minutes of running, Suki caught the figure as he ran through a shrubbery. She quickly adjusted her course to cut him off. Luckily, the man tried to escape roughly straight away from his pursuers, with only a very small curve that actually led him closer to Suki with each step. From the direction, she could tell that the man was running towards the village, which was quite odd. But it could mean that his hideout was around the village!

As she approached the guy, Suki could notice that he was not a man, but a boy. Most of his bulk came from the heavy camouflage suit he wore: dark green and brown clothes completed with leaves, grass and branches stuck onto them. Suki knew this suit – it belonged to Bipin who used it to observe the wild animals of the island. But this boy wasn't Bipin, as the forester was a very big man without the suit too. More importantly, he really held a hatchet in his right hand. Suki cursed her luck that she missed her chance to get the sword. Now she had to fight an armed opponent with her war fans only, what was a quite unfavourable situation.

Just as these thoughts ran through her head, the boy suddenly changed course, turning sharply to the left so that she was now running perpendicularly to Suki. But before she could take advantage on this, she realized that the boy had a very good reason to do this: from his right, Kei had come up on him suddenly, and with her superior speed, the distance between them began to decrease dramatically.

It didn't take too much for Kei to catch him. The boy screamed, but he had no chance. Kei fell upon him like a starving crowhawk, knocking him down and sweeping through the undergrowth with him in a long line. Unfortunately, the camouflage suit proved to be quite helpful, as it fell apart from the force of the impact and its heavy upper part coiled around Kei, breaking her momentum and making her tumble and fly into a bush.

It seemed that today, Kei was very unfortunate with clothing.

The boy landed in a small mound of dirt and Suki quickly sized the initiative and attacked him. Luckily, he lost his hatchet when Kei stormed him, and he was still dazed from the force of the impact.

"No, wait!" he screamed, but it was too late. Suki's war fans hit him on his right arm, but only sliced up the remaining of the camouflage suit. The boy tried to grab her arms, but Suki intentionally let him move closer and kneeled right in his groin when he leaned forward.

The mountainside echoed the boy's pained scream with sympathy. For a moment, it seemed that the whole forest was silent with pity.

The boy staggered back, painfully whimpering, but the fight was not over yet. From behind Suki, Asha leaped forward, savagely jumping onto the boy. She somehow managed to cling into him and she bit his arm where Suki opened up the suit.

Another scream tore the air apart, but this time, their surroundings decided to turn a blind eye to the suffering of the poor boy.

Kei recovered from her rough landing, ripping herself free from the trap of the heavy clothes and quickly joined the fight. She simply grabbed the boy and lifted him above her head. Asha screamed up in panic as she was still clinging to him, but she managed to jump away just in time – right onto Suki, pushing her to the ground. With her warrior-sister moved off from her victim, Kei simply smashed the boy into the nearest tree with a gleeful smirk on her face. It was more than enough to finally knock him out. He slid down to the ground from the tree to his back, and remained there.

"Well, that was exciting." noted Kei smugly, and Suki had to agree. Her heart was still beating like crazy, and her thoughts still raced through her mind like bewildered ostrich horses.

"Is he… dead?" asked Asha, still scared.

"Nope, he has barely got the one-tenth of my real strength."

As if just to confirm Kei's words, the boy gave a weak groan and moved his hand towards the hood of the camouflage suit. Asha reacted quickly and leaped forward, landing right on the boy. She pushed him back down, bit his moving hand for good measure and rushed back to Kei, seeking cover behind her.  
With that, the boy finally gave up. He remained unmoving and silent, sans his heavy panting. Suki approached him, and kicked his hood away from his head.

The revelation struck her like a lightning. For a moment, she was unsure if she should just run away in shame and pray to Kyoshi that the boy would not remember the beating or if she should kneel next to him, tenderly wake him up and hope for forgiveness.

The boy was roughly two years older than Suki. His characteristic, angular face, short, stumpy nose and long raven-black hair made him extremely handsome and Suki couldn't even see his enthralling iron-grey eyes. She knew this boy. She pretty much grew up with him.

_He was…_

"Nirmal was right…" whispered Asha. She was in shock too, but her embarrassment was nothing compared to Suki's.

_He was…_

"What a surprise." hissed Kei. She was close to attack the boy again, and this time she would use her full strength. Kei only hated spinach more than him.

He was Takumi, the son of Oyaji and the almost-boyfriend of Suki.

But just almost so far. They grew up together, in the same family, and even though they weren't related, they treated each other like cousins. And nowadays, Suki certainly had the feeling that there is something more developing between them, even though this whole cousin-thing made things pretty awkward.

Suki crouched down next to Takumi and tenderly stroked his face.

"Takumi?" she asked, but the boy only shuddered. "Are you alright?"

His eyes slowly opened up, and after some searching, they found Suki.

"That was a stupid question Suki. You know, three girls have just attacked me." His voice was weak, but Suki could hear a tone of forgiveness in it. "One of them was an inhuman brute, the other was a rabid hamster and the third was Avatar Kyoshi's fury incarnate." He gulped, and forced out a pained smile. "But when I was just about to give up on this ruthless and wrongful world the sweet voice of a charming girl brought me back to life. Thank you, Suki, I would be dead without you."

Of course, it was a strong and obvious hyperbole, but Suki loved it. Especially where Takumi called her the incarnated fury of Avatar Kyoshi. Very flattering.

The two other girls were on a different opinion though. Kei was on the brink of an outburst of rage, her head was red from anger and her clenched fists were ready for some serious punching. Asha was clearly puzzled, but she was also leaning towards hostile behaviour. For now, she just remained behind Kei, staring with increasing menace at Takumi.

He slowly staggered to his feet, warily watching Kei in case the girl took it as a sign of aggression. She actually made a few steps towards him in response, but Suki stepped in between them with her back turned to Kei as a silent order to stand down. She grumblingly complied, but her looks said that only one wrong move, and Takumi would get a taste of the remaining nine-tenths of her strength.

"Sorry for the unprovoked attack Takumi." started Suki. "We mistaken you with someone else."

"Not a problem girls, pardon accepted." replied Takumi instantly, but his painful grimace said otherwise.

"So, if we are okay with this, then I will take my leave now." And with that, he began to sidle away.

"Stop it! We are not done yet!" shouted Kei.

"You were stalking us!" growled Asha.

"Yeah, you were totally stalking us! So you will stay where you are or…"

Suki silenced Kei with a motion of her hand. She wasn't so sure that Takumi had been stalking them. He probably just spotted Suki on the mountain peak and tried to get close to her while avoiding the two other girls. Though Suki had to admit, the camouflage suit was fairly suspicious.

"We were looking after a spy when we spotted you." explained Suki. The boy was left rather puzzled by the accusation. "So, may I ask about what are you actually doing in the forest with Bipin's camouflage suit?"

Takumi didn't respond immediately. He doubtingly glanced at Suki, and finally stopped at her eyes. His eyes widened, and for a moment, Suki thought that she would faint on the spot from the gaze of those beautiful grey eyes. She could feel the warmth on her face as it turned all red and her whole body was itching under her robes.

"You really hurt my feelings Suki." he ultimately said. "I wouldn't have expected this from you, but whatever. If you think that I'm some kind of pervert who is stalking young girls in the forest or in their dojo, then so be it." His words hit Suki with the force of an Elephant Koi. She could feel the blood escaping from her face, and she was now really on the brink of fainting. The situation turned from awkward to disastrous way too quickly.

"I didn't say that!" cried out Suki.

"If you wanted to deepen my humiliation with these offensive words after that beating, then you have succeeded." continued Takumi. "My day is now completely ruined, alongside of my dignity, thanks to you. Maybe I should just go home now. Like this. Dishonoured and like a beaten dog."

"How did you even know that we were being stalked in our dojo too?" inserted Kei suspiciously, but Suki couldn't hear her words. Neither could she see Takumi's angry glance towards the girl.

"And when dad will ask me about what happened, I will tell him that my much-loved Suki did this to me."

With his monologue over, the forest took the chance to express its pity again with an uneasy silence, but this time, towards Suki. She felt demolished. She missed her chance with the sword, and now she was on a good way to make Takumi loathe her. And just now, when it had really looked like there was something special between them. He could be her first boyfriend, the most gorgeous boy of the whole island – and that would be perfect, a relationship Suki deserved as the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors. And now, it seemed that this dream was falling apart like a shattered mirror.

But she could still salvage this. She took a deep breath and beat back her growing panic. Even though she felt like screaming right now, she forced out a tempting smile. As a result, Takumi began to loosen up.

"Sorry for everything Takumi." she started soothingly. "This stalker case is really getting on our nerves." This finally softened up the boy's offended grimace.

"Okay, okay. No hard feelings." he said finally, and Suki could feel a huge stone dropping from her heart.

"Guess you girls are under lots of stress right now."

"This is unbelievable…" Kei had something else to say too, but Suki silenced her with an angry hand gesture.

Takumi cleared his throat.

"About my occupations here, I was helping Bipin clearing the forest." Suki sighed. That explained the hatchet. "So a half hour ago or so, uhm… I met with Instructor Tamara and… uhm… She asked me to find you and check out if everything is alright."

"Well, I must admit, I have heard sillier stories before." noted Kei.

"And Bipin isn't in the forest. He is working in the sawmill today!" added Asha.

"Well… uhm… I was just helping him! And I helped him because he is in the sawmill!"

"You don't mean to say that you are clearing the forest all alone?" Kei's words made Takumi frown.

"Yes, I do say that! So… When I finally found you, I had to notice that I didn't only find the island's greatest beauty, but the greatest monster too." Now it was Kei's turn to take offence: she was already at the edge, and this insult only fuelled her anger. "I tried to signal to you Suki. I threw rocks towards you, but you didn't notice them." Suki realized that what she thought to be Kei trying to pick a fight with Asha was in fact Takumi trying to signal her. "And then, the thunderbolt startled me, and the rest is history."

"This stupid story is a lie!" hissed Kei. "Why would you need a camouflage suit for wood-cutting? And why would Instructor Tamara trust you to find us?"

Suki got a bad feeling that things were heading in the wrong direction again, so she decided to take a few precautions. First, she stepped closer to Takumi, slightly pushing her armour to his clothes. This immediately drew the boy's attention away from Kei.

"Pumpkin? What are you doing?" Kei's perplexed voice was a good sign.

"Don't mind her. Maybe she is sceptical, but I believe you." Suki's words finally calmed down Takumi.

"Whaaaaat?" yelled Kei. "How can you believe him? He is lying!"

"I don't know Kei, maybe he is telling the truth." commented Asha, but she soon regretted this as Kei kicked her in the leg, making her tumble to the ground.

"Fine." grumbled Kei, as she finally realized that Suki is not interested in noticing her. "If you want to ignore me, so be it." And with that, she turned around and walked away. The shadows of the forest quickly swallowed her figure, and soon only the noise of the breaking branches showed her way.

Suki just smiled at Takumi, and he returned the gesture. She leant forward, and even though she originally aimed at the lips, ultimately, she kissed him only on his cheeks. This struck Takumi unprepared, but in a good way. He blushed, and tried to kiss back – on the lips – but Suki danced away in the final moment.

"Hey!" he yelled angrily, as she denied the kiss from him. Suki just smiled, thriving in his attention.

"You should go. Return to your work before Bipin notices your absence." she replied, and watched as Takumi stroked the spot on his face where she kissed him.

"Sure." The boy started to gather his stuff together, recovering his hatchet and the remains of the camouflage suit. "This suit is a mess. I have to spend my whole night to repair it." He noted, as he picked up the cloak what wrapped around Kei when she stormed him. It was heavily damaged as Kei literally tore it apart to free herself.

"You shouldn't worry about that. Just leave it in my room when you go back home. I'll fix it myself." Suki's offer cheered up Takumi a little bit. She really wanted to compensate the boy for all the trouble she put him through.

"Okay, I can live with that." He packed up the suit and began to leave the girls. "Goodbye!"

Suki watched him as he disappeared in the forest. A few steps backwards and a huge step forward overall made a good progression. Takumi nearly kissed her, and if Asha hadn't been here, then she would have gone for it. Suki really hoped that she would have a similar chance with him, but without spectators. And more importantly, without Kei.

"Come on Asha, our job is done here. We should go back to the dojo."

"But what about Kei?"

"I think she will be there too. Lets go."

The two girls left the place without further hesitation. As the storm clouds slowly encroached the island, the darkness of the forest began to grow larger, like a huge, ancient daemon that feeds on shadows, slowly gathering strength to devour all. The girls hastened their steps, but not because of the gloom that followed them – as the daughters of Avatar Kyoshi, they had nothing to fear – but because from beyond the forest, the wind carried the sound of an even formidable thing: the whispering voice of a downpour.


	8. Part 8 - Kei and Takumi

Kei could also hear the rain, and from the tree where she was crouching, she could also see the massive, greyish haze around the northwestern shores of the island. And more importantly, she could hear and see her victim perfectly from this position.

He was walking towards her, unsuspicious and judging from the smug smile on his face, completely sunk in his own dream-world.

"Enjoy your stupid victory as long as you can, drama queen!" whispered Kei to herself. She didn't see what happened between Suki and Takumi after she left, but she had some quite good ideas. And that stupid smile on that stupid face only strengthened her worst fears.

The boy slowly approached the point where she could ambush him, so Kei slowly readied herself for the attack. She possessed a special power, an ability to turn herself extremely strong, tough and fast by channelling and focusing her own spiritual energies. She could feel these energies inside her body, and she knew that most of them were unused and purposelessly flowing inside her. And she knew that this was the case with other people too, but unlike them, Kei could grab this surplus energy and use it – bend it – to greatly enhance her physical attributes. This was a wonderful power, and Kei loved it. Especially in cases like this one.

And now, she did exactly that. So far, she made quite a bit of progress with increasing the effectiveness of her power. She could enhance one or two attributes instantly at once, but increasing all three still required some time. But when she concentrated on the proper arrangements, the world began to change as the spiritual energies filled up her body. Everything slowed down as she channelled the energies to achieve greater speed. The leaves around her seemed to be frozen in place, and when she looked up to the sky, she could see a lightning bolt slowly sprawling through the dark storm clouds. Then the air became thick, and it felt like foam, where it touched her steel-hard skin. Finally, the branch under her became soft and feeble in her hand, as it would turn into liquid. Thanks to her superior strength, it would offer just as much resistance if Kei would decide to smash it.

With her power reaching its peak, Kei launched her attack. From her point of view, it didn't feel like she was exceptionally fast, strong or tough. It felt more like moving underwater. Nevertheless, the roughly two-hundred meters between her and her target slipped under her feet within a blink of an eye, and she left a trail of smashed branches in her wake. When she landed beside the boy, she let her hastening energies leak away, then grabbed his shirt and lifted him up easily with one hand, keeping him in the air without effort.

Takumi was of course completely helpless against her. He didn't even fight, as he didn't have the time to realize that someone attacked him. He was walking peacefully in the forest one second then suddenly found himself in someone's hand, floating above the ground in the next. For a long moment he was just stiff from shock. Then he looked down and realization struck him, but before he could say anything, Kei blocked his mouth with her other hand.

"I'm speaking and you will listen, pretty boy." she shook Takumi a little bit, drawing forth a muffled scream from him. "Unlike pumpkin, I'm pretty untroubled by your charm, so I can see clearly." she shook him again, now much stronger. "And I don't like what I see." Kei lowered the poor boy, so their eyes were on the same level. "This is my first and only warning. Stop here and now, and we will be cool. Continue ruffling with pumpkin..." she drew Takumi closer. The end of their noses touched each other. "…and I will take a piece of you for me. If you know what I mean." she ended her threat with a menacing grin, and the effect on Takumi was more than adequate. His eyes opened wide, and in them, Kei could only see pure terror. Actually, according to the smell, the boy probably peed himself too.

With her threat addressed, Kei punched Takumi in the stomach, making him buckle in pain, and roughly dropped him to the ground.

He was just panting there for a moment, but eventually gathered some strength to say something in return.

"You are an abomination." He crawled backwards a little, to gain some distance from his attacker. "And you are freak too, just like Mori…" he couldn't end his sentence, as Kei's roundhouse kick hit him in the face with full force, sending him flying through the undergrowth. He landed in a big pool of mud, right where Kei wanted.

"One-fifth of my strength. Take that and live with it, moron." but Takumi was knocked out for good, so he couldn't reply to Kei's mocking. The girl took it as sign of yielding, and unceremoniously left the place.


	9. Part 9 - Tamara and Chief Oyaji

Oyaji was usually a good-natured man, but Tamara had to conclude that he couldn't take pressure. She only wanted him to close the two piers that receive the merchant ships for a few days, but even this little request made the chief of the island to go ape. Luckily, they were sitting in a remote room in his house, so at least their talk couldn't start a wave of panic amongst the islanders. The lone saboteur had become the harbinger of the whole Fire Nation army, and his petty actions had suddenly caused catastrophic damage to the island's non-existent defences.

As Tamara could dig out from his rant he already named the saboteur "The Firestarter". This nickname was probably the production of Suki or Kitara, as nobody else in the whole island could make up something so silly.

On this note, she really wondered about what had happened with the girls. She hadn't heard anything about them since she sent them to search the island two hours ago. She was a little bit worried, but she also knew that they could defend themselves when needed. The problem was that they were still young novices. Athletics, stealth and basic combat wouldn't really help them much against a skilled opponent, and for now, these things were everything they knew. They had just started armed combat training with war fans and training swords, and the advanced combat techniques were still at least two or three years away. They were good, as good as seven warrior girls at their age could be, but nothing more. Except Kei, of course. And maybe Suki. And Kitara. And don't forget Okako either, who was a very promising Kyoshi Warrior – as Tamara heard, fighting was in her blood, quite literally. Actually, as she pondered over as why every of her girls are special in some way, she couldn't hold back a soft, proud smile.

"Overall, I think we should call back the initiates immediately!" To emphasise his proposal, Oyaji hit the desk in front of him with his fist. The loud crunch snapped out Tamara from her daydreaming. She lost the trace of the discussion somewhere around that stupid nickname.

"Uhm… What are you saying?" Her inattention luckily remained unnoticed, as Oyaji wasn't in the state of mind to catch it.

"I said, we should ask the Commander to rally the Kyoshi Warriors to protect the island from the oncoming invasion."

"Who? What?" Tamara had to take a moment to digest the sentence. Then suddenly, everything snapped together, only to make even less sense. "You want who to do what?" The skeptical tone of her question confused Oyaji a little.

"Again, I want…"

"I heard it. I'm just asking if you are joking."

"I'm serious. I think this is the best course of our actions."

Tamara emptied her cup. The tea in it was cold, as Oyaji poured it for her about an hour ago.  
"And how do you want to do it?"

"I'll send a messenger hawk. I've already written the letter, where I explain our situation and ask for help."

"And you think she will care? Should I remind you why she will trash your letter without even reading it? You know what happened the last time when she set foot on this island? Or to recall something graver, what happened the time before the last one?"

"She has to be reasonable!" Now, it was Tamara's time to hit the desk with her palm. If Oyaji really thought that he can count on the Commander, then he was not only desperate and stupid, but also potentially dangerous. She got Oyaji's attention, and she had to get him down, least he will cause unneeded trouble.

"Reason was the first thing she abandoned. Amongst others. Even if she would get the letter, which I highly doubt, there is no way that she would send her Kyoshi Warriors here."

"But it is her duty to protect the island!" protested Oyaji, but Tamara could already see that he was beginning to lose his hopes.

"You forget that she is no longer the woman you knew. What happened with her thirteen years ago changed her badly. She is a madwoman. And an oath breaker. If you have any doubts, then go ahead. Just ask Suki about her mother." She waited a little, until her words settled down in Oyaji. "Now, that's how much she cares about her duties."

"But then, what should we do?" asked the chief. His voice was shaky from the realization. Tamara really pitied him. This situation was way too serious for such a simple and honest man like him.

"Just close the two piers as I asked." Tamara stood up, and brushed off an invisible dust bunny from her armour. "And leave the rest for me."


	10. Part 10 - Okako and Pema

It was raining outside the dojo for almost a half hour. The weather had shifted quite oddly. When Okako and Pema went back home, the huge clouds were about to avoid the island, but when they were half-way to the dojo, the wind suddenly changed course and they had to run for the last few dozen meters or risk to getting drenched.

The single room in the building was dark, as they didn't want to light candles, lest they will attract unwanted attention. This made Pema's work a little harder though, but the girl made quite a bit of progress with opening the box. Okako just sat on the training mat and watched her struggle. She tried to help her at the beginning, but she had done more harm than good, so she left the job to Pema.

The silence began to turn rather uncomfortable. Pema was busy with opening the box, and while her curses were rather funny, they weren't a basis for a conversation. So Okako got stuck by herself in the darkness, and her thoughts inevitably began to wander away. Personally, she didn't really approve this whole "sword theft", but as the lieutenant of the group, she had to at least oversee it. Pema of course tried to persuade the others too to help her, but Nirmal was uninterested in swords, Kitara could have them anyway and Asha quickly turned her down as she didn't want to face Tamara's wrath in case they get caught. Suki opposed the plan, but at least she didn't reveal it and Kei was just… Kei. On the other hand, Okako was both interested and eager to help.

Just like Pema she also thought that it was unfair that only Kitara was allowed to train with a real sword. They were all big girls now, and it wasn't like their razor-sharp war fans were less dangerous or anything. It just really troubled Okako, and that's why she ultimately agreed to support Pema. But unlike the other girl, she thought about her warrior-sisters too, and she planned to look after them and distribute the swords amongst them. Pema had a really good covering story, and Okako knew that once the swords were in front of them, none of the girls would be able to resist the temptation.

"Done!" Pema's shout cut through Okako's train of thoughts. She hurryingly crawled to the other girl, just to see the box slowly open up. But Pema's smile quickly changed into a frown.

"What's wrong?"

Pema didn't answer, but reached into the box and brought out two Kyoshi Warrior longswords. And then, still without saying anything simply let Okako to have a look inside the box.  
It was empty.

Other than the two swords, it had nothing inside. Even the black veil was missing.

The two girls exchanged a quick, meaningful glance, then grabbed the swords and unsheathed the blades. They slowly moved towards the centre of the dojo, pressing their backs to each other and slowly circling around, sweeping the room for any suspicious sign.

"I had the feeling that someone tinkered with the box before me, but I wasn't entirely sure." panted Pema heavily. Okako could hear the mounting panic from her voice, and she wasn't in a better mood either.

"Couldn't it be Tamara?" Stupid idea. She would just simply open the box.

"Nope. Whoever took our stuff, he or she breached the box just like me."

"And why did he leave the swords?"

Pema muffled a laugh.

"Someone was eavesdropping us. Our thief left the swords for us as an invitation."

"A challenge?" It began to look worse and worse with each passing moment.

_But who did this?_

"Yup. And a serious one."

They reached the centre of the dojo, but so far, Okako couldn't spot anything unusual. And from Pema's moves she could feel that the other girl similarly couldn't find anything.

Time slowed down, and each passing second became an eternity. Okako could feel her heart thumping crazily in her chest, and her muscles tightening from anticipation. It seemed like even the darkness drew back, revealing dim, weirdly shaped shadows. Okako nearly stormed one of these figures only to realize that it was just her senses fooling her.

"I think we should inform Instructor Tamara." she whispered finally. Even though she said this really carefully, her worlds still successfully startled Pema. The girl screamed up and made a chaotic swing with her sword.

The blade has barely missed Okako, but it was enough to make her panic. She pulled up her own sword, trying to parry, but she missed. Unfortunately, her hand has also slipped on the hilt, and she dropped the sword. It landed right between Pema's feet, with its pointy end downwards, piercing the training mat and probably the floor under it too for good two or three fingers deeply.

But at least it broke Pema's panicked move, so that she could understand the situation. For a long moment, the two girls just stared at each other.

"Uhm… Okako?"

"Yes Pema?"

"I'm kinda' scared." Okako nodded. She was quite frightened too.

"We should go and find Instructor Tamara."

Pema gulped, and took a deep breath.

"I think our guest will also be around her."

"Then he is a fool." said Okako reassuringly. "If we can warn Tamara, then he will have no chance against us." This made Pema smile. She leaned forward, and hugged Okako. The other girl returned the gesture, and they remained like that for a long moment.

"And what will happen if he will attack us while we are looking for mom?"

"We will watch each other's back." Okako reached down, and pulled out her sword from the floor. She lifted the blade up, so it hovered between their faces. The dim light from the outside ran through the sharp edge, a little star dancing to the whispers of metal and death. "And if he really attacks us, then he will face Avatar Kyoshi's judgement!"


	11. Part 11 - Suki, Kei and Asha

The rainfall ended shortly after they finally found cover. The forest protected them from the worst, and their waterproof uniforms kept their bodies dry, but nothing kept the water away from their hair.

It was really problematic only for Asha. Suki wore her short and thick hair loosely, holding it back with her ornate Kyoshi Warrior headdress. Kei had a longer hair, and she simply wore it in a triple ponytails. But Asha wore her hair in a classic Kyoshi Warrior bun, and it was pretty sensitive to water. By the time they could find a suitable cover from the rain – one of Bipin's observation posts – Asha's hair became a wild mess.

Suki tried to arrange it in proper order, but she was about to give up. As she had begun to notice, the younger girl wasn't really a big fan of hair washing, and now strange things were surfacing from that big bog on her head. Withered leaves, small branches, feathers and even a tiny seashell.

"You should really wash your hair more frequently Asha." commented Suki after her next catch, a piece of seaweed.

"Why should I?" she replied innocently. "Back in the tribe, I only washed my hair when the hunters threw me into the river. And I'm still alive!"

"But you are no longer with your tribe. You should wash your hair every day."

"Or, if you ask me nicely, then you can return to your customs, and I will gladly throw you into the ocean." Kei's mocking was only awarded with angry glances from the two other girls.

They remained silent for some time. The raining outside suddenly regained its strength and it soon turned into another downpour. A bright flash lightened up the inside of the observation post, and for a moment, the world turned black and white for the girls. A loud thunderclap followed the phenomenon, and Suki couldn't miss Asha's shudder.

"Throwing me into the water wasn't a tribal custom." began Asha, and her gloomy voice made Suki regret to bring up this whole hairwashing subject. "The hunters threw me into the river whether I wanted it or not. And I never wanted it. But they did it anyways anytime they could catch me just to laugh at me and watch me struggle against the stream." She hunched up a little bit. "I hate those people."

Suki couldn't really comment on that. She knew that Asha was from a primitive tribe from the eastern Earth Kingdom, and that she was some sort of outcast there, but nothing else. But at least she finished with her hair. She simply arranged it into a simple ponytail, and Asha looked awful with it. She had two locks of hair on the sides of her face, so overall, she looked like a Water Tribe fisherwoman. She turned Asha towards her.

"Look, as I said, you are no longer with your tribe. You are with us. You are a Kyoshi Warrior now." Suki was glad to see that her words swept away the unpleasant memories from Asha's head.

"Yeah!" inserted Kei. "We are sisters, and nobody can deny this. You are perfectly safe with us."

"You just wanted to throw me into the ocean a few moments ago!" hissed Asha as a reply, but Kei didn't even flinch.

"Hey, there is only one person on this world who could hurt you girls, and that's me!" Kei crawled to the other girls and placed her hand on Asha's shoulder. "If anyone else tries to mess with you, then I will personally rip his heart out from his chest with my bare hands!"

This finally cheered up Asha. She jumped forward, flinging her arms around both girls. The two quickly hugged back, and soon they were all cuddled up. Asha remarkably enjoyed the comfort of the two older girls greatly, burying herself into the gap between them. Cuddling was always important for the Kyoshi Warriors, as they didn't have a real family to rely on. They only had each other: sisters in hearth and not in blood, the spiritual daughters of Avatar Kyoshi, as their real mothers left them long ago.

"Uhm… Suki?" Kei's voice was a little bit shaky, and Suki knew, that this time, the girl won't try to pick a fight with her.

"What is it?"

"Sorry for the dojo. And Takumi. I have overreacted to a few things today I guess."

"I'm not even mad at you." replied Suki kindly, but with a slight scolding tone.

Kei just giggled and tightened her hug.

The downpour ended just as suddenly as it has started. The three girls decided to abandon the observation post and make a rush towards the village instead of the dojo. Maybe they could find Instructor Tamara there or run into the other girls, so they could devise a new course of action together.


	12. Part 12 - Nirmal and Kitara

The storm luckily avoided the eastern part of the island. Kitara and Nirmal watched as the dark clouds clashed into the mountains of the island. They defeated the smaller ones, but got stuck on the two largest: the north-western Golden Pillar stood defiantly against the weather, but its efforts were dwarfed by the mountain on the east, what was the largest and tallest mountain of the island.

It was the Tomb of Kyoshi, a massive, intimidating mountain that was said to be raised by Avatar Kyoshi herself with an amazing display of earthbending. Within its very core laid the dead body of the Avatar, surrounded by dozens of dead Kyoshi Warriors as the cadre placed its dead members to final rest here. It was Avatar Kyoshi's will to do so, as she wanted to be with her daughters even in death.

Or at least that's what Instructor Tamara told to the girls, but Nirmal knew that there was something shadier is going on around the tomb. The mountain was a forbidden place for the novices. And for a good reason, as it was haunted by the restless spirits of the dead Kyoshi Warriors. During the darkest nights, the entrance of the tomb was filled with strange lights and voices, and according to the rumours, anyone who foolish enough to go there could witness the spectres of women roaming the mountain, wearing the uniform and the war paint of the Kyoshi Warriors.

Personally, Nirmal believed in these rumours. They were scary and disturbing, but they fit very well into the customs. Instructor Tamara often said that they were not just the daughters of Avatar Kyoshi by mere words. The oaths they took when they were inducted established a powerful spiritual bond between the girls and the dead Avatar, a bond that would grow even stronger over time. Nirmal thought that this bond had some sort of mystical properties that would eventually result in a spiritual immortality of some form – for both sides. And what was more interesting, Nirmal had a theory that this bond worked not just between warrior and Avatar, but between warrior and warrior too. Dead or alive, it didn't matter.

So standing at the base of this mountain was quite uncomfortable. Kitara was determined to scour this part of the island too, and unfortunately, Nirmal had to follow her here. Of course, the young swordfighter had little concern about spirits as she had her sword. It probably wouldn't help her against the spirits of long-dead initiates, but the cold fact left Kitara quite untroubled even though Nirmal has already explained this to her a few times since they approached the mountain.

"You know, Nirmal, I was thinking." Kitara was munching on an apple as she said this.

"About what?"

"About the woman who is teaching you."

"Lady Shiela?"

"Yes! Lady Shiela!" Kitara bit into the apple. "I knew her name started with 'S'…"

"So, what's about her?"

"I was thinking…"

"Yes, I already know that."

"Is she a Kyoshi Warrior? You know, like an initiate?"

_This again._

Nirmal wasn't the best Kyoshi Warrior when it came to fighting, but what she lacked in combat skills, she regained with her already rather impressive knowledge on medicine and biology. She knew how to treat wounds and sickness, she could make special potions and she was well versed in the many secrets of the human body.

And the other girls totally envied her for this, even though when Nirmal offered the chance to teach them to what she knew, only Suki took the opportunity, and even her attention was short lived. It seemed that her warrior-sisters only wanted to do the cool stuff she could do, and not the arduous training she had to go through for it.

Additionally, the woman teaching her was a mysterious figure for the girls. She came to the island every fourth or fifth day, and Nirmal spent the whole day with her each time instead of her usual Kyoshi Warrior training with Instructor Tamara. Shiela was a staid and rigorous woman, but Nirmal liked her seriousness and no-nonsense attitude. The others didn't share this opinion though, and even Tamara seemed to distrust her. It wasn't helped that Shiela looked at everyone with open disdain, and only spared Nirmal from her contempt.

For some time, Nirmal actually thought that Shiela was in fact her mother. They looked very differently, but looks weren't everything. When she finally gathered enough strength to present this to her teacher, the woman simply had a laugh at her. This reaction instantly ruled out any possibility that they were related.

"She isn't a Kyoshi Warrior."

"Uhm… I see. But then, who is she? I mean, why is she teaching you?"

Nirmal had to ponder about this a little bit.

"I think because she is a friend of the Kyoshi Warriors. So it could be some sort of favour I guess?"

"And why do you think that she is a friend? For example, Tamara clearly dislikes her." Kitara threw the core of the apple in the air and cut it in two lengthways with a single quick strike with her sword.

"Tamara is just one. There are other initiates who probably have a better opinion on her." Actually, it was just some wild guessing from Nirmal's part. So far, the girls only knew Instructor Tamara as an initiate. They understood that they were out there somewhere, but that's all. "If Shiela would be really alien to the cadre, then I don't think that Tamara would allow her to teach me, would she?"

"Now you caught me!" laughed Kitara. Nirmal just smiled. This mistrustful thinking was very unusual from the young swordfighter. She was probably doing some inquiry for someone else. This 'someone' could be only Pema or Okako. They had a bad habit of poking their noses into everything. And Nirmal decided that she would give them a little something to puzzle over.

"But I can give you this: Shiela also have a soft grudge against Tamara, too. She told me that her Kyoshi Warrior training methods are more like conditioning."

"Conditioning? That sounds rough!" Actually, Shiela used a stronger word: brainwashing. And she meant it for the whole cadre, and not only for Tamara.

"Now, did I satisfy your curiosity?"

"Sure." Kitara flashed a dorky smile. "I was thinking about this because, y'know, I've read a story in one of Tamara's books. It was about Kwang and Ila, best friends. They did absolutely everything together. Then one day, Kwang fell in with the 'wrong crowd' and Kwang didn't have time for Ila anymore. Ila would say, 'Wanna go play a game or pretend we're kitties?' and Kwang would say, 'Uh-uh, I'm in with the wrong crowd!'. Ila was so sad, that she ran home, climbed up a tree and started eating chocolates. A ton of chocolates. She got huge. Huge! HUGE!" Kitara tried to show how big Ila grew, but her wild hand movements made as little sense as her story did. "And to put it simply, I don't want to see me and the girls getting huge because of you! And don't take it wrong, I'm just worried."

"It is very kind of you." Replied Nirmal sarcastically. "But Shiela is hardly a 'wrong crowd'. First and foremost I'm a Kyoshi Warrior. And Shiela can't change this."

"Uhm… That's fine then…" Kitara danced a little closer to Nirmal, and smiled at her. "But do you know what does it mean?"

"Hugging time?" smiled back Nirmal, and Kitara hugged her without saying anything. Nirmal immediately hugged back, and they remained like that for quite some time.

Suddenly, Kitara's muscles tightened, and before Nirmal could understand, she draw her sword with an insanely fast movement, pointing it somewhere left to Nirmal. The blade just barely missed Nirmal's nose, but she gulped back her complaint when she noticed Kitara's alarmed face.

"What's happened?" she whispered after she cautiously looked around.

"We are not alone here. Someone is watching us!"

"Maybe it is just Suki's platypus-bear man." Nirmal's comment nearly made Kitara laugh, but she muffled it in the last moment.

"This is serious. He should be…" Nirmal could see her focusing somewhere into the forest. "Over there!" Kitara leaped forward then took a turn to the right. She stormed a fallen tree, but when she finally reached it, she lowered her sword. "He is gone!"

Nirmal walked next to her, and gave a glance to the remains of the tree. She couldn't see anything unusual.

"It was just the shadows playing with you. And watch with that sword, lest you kill someone with it!"  
Kitara just shook her head in disbelief. From her puzzled expression, Nirmal knew that she really saw something.

The storm clouds chose this moment to finally overcome the two mountains, and with a roaring thunder, they began to envelop the whole island. As the two girls began to make a run back towards the village, the downpour quickly became the leas of their problems.


	13. Part 13 - The Novices

Suki, Kei and Asha regretted their hasty decision a long time ago. Just as they left the observation post, the storm renewed its efforts to sweep away the island, and they were soon caught by yet another downpour, but this time on the open road.

By the time they reached the village, they looked like if they had swum through the ocean to get there. Asha's hair fell apart again, and the poor girl was now blind from her own hair. Kei had to pick her up half way and carry her on her back from there.

Tamara's home was just a few dozen meters away from the village's main building – the home of chief Oyaji and his family, including Suki - on the top of a small hillside. From outside, it was very similar to the Kyoshi Warrior dojo: the two shared the same brick-shaped structure and tall roof, but Tamara's home had an extra door and a larger terrace.

The whole building was suspiciously dark. Tamara always left at least one lamp alight, but now, nothing emitted a single ray of light from inside. Suki decided to go in first, cautiously pushing Kei aside from the main door. She signed to her that she would step through the door first, and when Kei tried to protest, she just simply poked Asha, who was still on the other girl's back. This was enough for Kei who swallowed her grudge, and stepped back.

So far, they remained almost completely silent. It was still raining, and its continuous, whispering voice suppressed even the little noise what they made.

Suki slowly opened the door, and took a step inside. She was in the living room. It had a large, low table in the centre, but the cushions that served as seats were missing. To her left, the door to the kitchen was closed and seemingly barricaded too. To her right, the doors to the stores were left wide open, while the stair to the floor and the bedrooms was also blocked with a large shelf. It felt like the whole house was systematically prepared for a siege.

But why? Maybe the other girls have found something?

Just as this thought went through Suki's mind, a small glimmer flashed up to her right, and the following whizzing was way too familiar for Suki. She quickly leaped forward, dodging the blade of the sword just in time. Even then, it still cut down a small curl of her auburn hair.

Her attacker tried a follow-up strike, but Suki was more than ready to receive it. She moved into the attack, easily avoiding the blade and returning the favour with an elbow strike into his face. The swordsman released a girlish scream and fell to the ground, dropping the sword.  
Just as Suki prepared to deliver the finishing blow, another figure jumped out from the shadows, but Suki's swift spinning kick knocked him to the table.

Her eyes slowly began to be accustomed to the darkness, so Suki could finally recognize the two assailants. They were Okako and Pema, the former now trying to pull herself together from the painful collision with the table, while the later was still sprawled on the floor, massaging her face where Suki hit her.

"Okako? Pema?" Her voice froze the girls. "What are you doing here?" She picked up the sword what Pema dropped. It was a Kyoshi Warrior longsword. "And where did you get these swords?"  
For a moment, nobody answered. Only the whispering rain could be heard. Finally, Okako broke the awkward silence.

"Somebody robbed Tamara's box in the dojo. He left only these two swords for us."

"And why are you here then? You should find Instructor Tamara as soon as you could."

"We tried, but she isn't here." replied Pema. "Since we had no idea about her whereabouts, we decided to just stay at home and wait for her."

Suki just sighed. She felt that this wasn't the full story, but she also knew that she has no time to push it. They had to act. Now.

"Okay girls. Tamara should be in the harbour. We must inform her about what hap…" She was interrupted by Kei. She stormed into the house, nearly fell over Pema, and roughly dropped Asha to the floor.

"Guess fun time is over, pumpkin!" she said, and before Suki could even ask anything from her, two other figures ran through the door, literally plunging into the house. They were Kitara and Nirmal, and they looked terrified. They also panted heavily, so they had to have been running for quite some time.

"We are in big trouble!" started Kitara as she gasped for air. "The Platypus-bear Man is real, and he is after us!" Nirmal just smacked her in the back as a rebuke.

"He is probably not the Platypus-bear Man." she added. "But he is real!"

Kei light a lamp and the sudden brightness made the girls shudder. Suki realized that Okako and Pema wore their Kyoshi Warior war paint too, so they meant serious business. And Asha looked terrifyingly ludicrous with her completely messed-up hair.

"What's happened with you?" asked Okako from Nirmal. The other girl gulped.

"Well, we were on our way back to the dojo when we met with him. He probably followed us for some time though. I guess he made a wrong step or something, because all of a sudden, he stumbled in front of us. And when we tried to speak to him, he just grinned, and unsheathed a large, curved sword…"

"It was a sabre." inserted Kitara, but the other girls shushed her.

"So then, he attacked us, but he slipped on a puddle, and missed us badly."

"But I cut into his clothes!" boasted Kitara.

"Yes. Kitara cut into his clothes as he stormed past us. Then he stopped, doubtlessly checking the cut, and ran away. We tried to chase him down, but he disappeared in the forest."

The other girls stood amazed. This sounded like some very-very serious thing.

Personally, Suki only felt resentment. Life was unfair and she didn't like this. Today, Kitara got all the cool stuff: the sword, an opponent for it and even a successful strike! She could feel her anger mounting, but she swallowed it with a big gulp. She had bigger things at hand, and she had to stay focused. Petty personal frustrations would only hinder her now.

So she just grinded her teeth and tried to stay calm.

"So why do you think he was the Platypus-bear Man?" asked Suki.

"Because he was big!" answered Kitara excitedly.

"Yeah, giving it a second thought, he really looked like a platypus-bear in a human form!" added Nirmal.  
"I can't believe that he is real." Pema's comment remained unanswered for a moment. The girls just looked at each other, and their puzzled faces quickly turned self-confident. They exchanged some meaningful glances, as the same realization struck them.

According to the legend what Oyaji told Suki, Avatar Kyoshi manifested her Avatar powers when she defeated the dreaded Platypus-bear Man who terrorized the locals for months. It was a great milestone in her life, a testimony that she was destined for a grand fate. And when she did it, she was around the same age as the girls now…

"The Platypus-bear Man has returned to continue his reign of terror." began Okako ceremoniously.  
"It is kinda unbelievable, and it was easily the most absurd scenario, but even I can't deny the cold facts now." continued Nirmal.

"Maybe Avatar Kyoshi is dead, but we, her daughters, are here to be the deliverers of her justice!" announced Suki, and the girls expressed their agreement with an aggressive yell.

Their fears and hesitation were flushed away by fierce determination. Soon, the whole house was noisy from the preparations. The girls checked each other's equipment and put up their war paint, Pema finally fixed Asha's hair and Kei built a bigger barricade, just in case.

After they were done, they assembled in front of the house. Seven young girls, all of them eager to fight. The storm was about to leave the island, and the rain had stopped, seemingly for the rest of the day.

"Okay, I think the monster will try and catch the most powerful member first." started Suki her explanation.  
"Me?" interrupted Kei in shock.

"No. Not you, but Instructor Tamara."

This unleashed a wave of disconcertment, especially amongst Okako, Pema, Nirmal and Kitara. The four girls began to whisper to each other worryingly.

"She is probably at the harbours." said Pema finally. "We should go there right now!"

"We will, but first…" Suki stepped in front of Pema. "Give me the sword. It will have a better place with me."

This struck Pema rather unprepared, and she just stared with confusion at Suki for a moment, but finally, she reached towards her sword to give it away.

"No! Don't do it!" shouted Okako suddenly.

"I'm the best swordfighter of the Kyoshi Warriors." Suki placed her hand on the hilt of Pema's sword, but Okako snapped it away.

"That isn't the problem!" Now she got Suki's attention. "That thing left those two swords for us. For me and Pema. If we want to keep the element of surprise, then it should remain that way! Otherwise, he will be more wary that we have set up a trap for him or something!"

"And why do you think that he left them for you?" replied Suki sharply. She was getting running short on patience.

"Because we wanted to steal them. And he eavesdropped us." confessed Pema ultimately. Suki barely raised an eyebrow. She knew about the plan, but she turned it down when Pema wanted to recruit her.  
She stepped back, and let Pema to keep the sword.

_And life remained unfair._

"Can we go now? I want to break something!" Kei's complain dragged back Suki from the sword to the real thing. "And if you don't present a proper target, then I'll look for one by myself." Kei turned around, and stopped at Nirmal. "We have a score to settle, don't we?"

Nirmal made a few steps back, trying to take cover behind Kitara, but Kei quickly tried to catch her. Nirmal screamed up, and made a run to Suki.

"Easy Kei! You can have your fight, but you have to behave until then!" Suki's words ended the fight before it could really begin. Kei grinned, but stepped back in line.

"Lets go, and catch this guy!"

The girls complied with Suki's order without a word. Seven quick shadows, wearing heavy green robes and dark-grey body armour, armed with war fans and longswords, and determined to battle the man who threatened Kyoshi Island.


	14. Part 14 - Tamara and Sengo

Ulva's inn was the only place on the whole island that accommodated travellers. As Tamara found out, all the rooms were occupied. This was in great part because of the storm, but some were taken a long ago. And one had a guest who was here for almost a whole month. And he paid for the room in advance.  
Very amateurish. Very typical.

So overall, all that Tamara had to do is to wait in the sitting-room of the inn, and watch for suspicious people. She knew that sooner or later, the saboteur would appear here, as he couldn't evade the Kyoshi Warriors forever. He had to show up and face her personally, lest he risk complete failure.

Luckily, the storm kept everyone else in their rooms, so Tamara was alone, and could do her job undisturbed.

Her man showed up roughly one hour after midday. He was tall and wide, with dark-toned skin and a very muscular body. His green eyes and short, greyish hair were mismatched with his grey and brown clothing. His whole appearance screamed 'marauder'. Tamara knew that he wasn't a man for these kinds of infiltration and sabotage jobs. Actually, his brutal features were well known for her. He was Sengo, a veteran mercenary, and an old acquaintance of hers.

He unceremoniously walked to Tamara and sat down next to her. The large sabre on his back clanged loudly when it hit the back of the chair.

"You haven't aged a single day since the last time we met." he began. His sonorous, deep voice was a very good match to his looks.

"Thanks. It's been quite some time since then."

"Sixteen years. You and your sisters demolished a whole cave on me and some other mercenaries. Just because we didn't want to surrender without fighting."

"Yeah, the Arvind Mountains. I'm not surprised that you survived it somehow."  
"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You could. Anyways, why are you here?"

"Do I really have to tell it to you? You have already figured it out, and I hate to repeat other people's thoughts."

"And what did bring you to this friendly inn in these stormy times?" Tamara's sarcastic question made Sengo frown.

"Well, your little bloodhounds are everywhere, that's what!" he rearranged the clothes on his shoulder, revealing a large cut on his robe. "One of them even cut into me! You shouldn't give real weapons to those girls, lest they will kill someone!"

Tamara laughed up, what only made Sengo angrier.

"You shouldn't pick a fight with Kitara! She is the best swordfighter of the group!"

"Thank you, but I've already noticed that."

"And why did you even attack them?"

"It was an accident. I didn't want to attack, but it just happened that way."

"Did the others experience similar accidents too?"

Sengo just snorted.

"Please, you arranged those teams perfectly. I'm not the man to fight the daemonspawn and your daughter-wannabe, and I don't want to take a taste from the combined might of the spiritbender and the younger redhead." Tamara just smiled. In her thoughts, she gave a good point to Suki.

"And you picked Kitara and Nirmal because…"

"It was an accident. Because, you know, I don't want to get to the wrong side of Shiela either."

"It is very wise of you. But back to the topic, the only thing I couldn't figure out is the affiliation of your employers. So who are they?"

Now it was Sengo's turn to smile.

"It doesn't matter. Not the Fire Nation and not the Earth Kingdom." his smile only widened when he noticed Tamara's puzzled face. "I would put them somewhere in-between."

"You don't say…" panic gripped Tamara's mind. She had a very good idea about these mysterious people, but if they want to attack the island, then it would spell disaster for anyone here.

"I do. The whole Third Battalion is en route to a nearby Fire Nation base, and they have some very solid orders to drown this island in blood."

Tamara could feel her heart beating like crazy and her thoughts rampaging in her mind like bewildered komodo rhinos. Her worst nightmares were just about to come true.

"What?" her voice was shaky from the shock, and it improved Sango's mood greatly.

"As I said. They are three days away from the base and you will have another four until the invasion. If I were you, then I would try to neutralize them somehow before they attack."

This gave Tamara a good idea. She looked right into Sengo's eyes. He was a mercenary. And for a warrior, he was a good one. Maybe she could take an advantage on these things.

"And what is your reward?" she took a deep breath. "I'll double it if you help me driving back that army!"  
But Sengo only burst out laughing.

"I don't do it for money! In return for my efforts, I will only get a little piece of fun." he grinned viciously, and glanced through Tamara. "The battalion will raze this whole place to the ground. They will kill everyone, without exception. Actually, as I heard, they will use earthbenders to sink the whole island right into the depths of the ocean."

"I won't let it happen…" grumbled Tamara, but Sengo just laughed on her.

"You know, when your stupid team buried me in that cave with those guys, you gave me some pretty hard time to survive. It wasn't really the best time of my life, and I like to keep my grudges. So this is what will happen: I'll catch your little girls one by one and lock them up in your precious dojo." he made a wide gesture with his hand, like he would close a door. "Then, because I hate loose threads, I'll set the building on fire and watch those little freaks burn alive!"

Normally, Tamara would just laugh on this. The Kyoshi Warrior dojo was perfectly fireproof and had a secret escape hatch under the training mattress.

She would do it, normally.

But not now. Even though his threat was bleeding from many wounds, Sengo still crossed the line. Whatever he said, he meant it. And nobody can threaten her girls like this.

She needed only a short moment to clear her head and focus. She calmed her breath and heart, and forced a cold stillness to her body. Now, she could feel every little muscle, and have perfect control over them – she used her will to negate her own physical limitations, and determined that her attack would have the speed of a lightning and the force of a tornado.

But Sengo was prepared for this, and when Tamara kicked out, he immediately rolled away, dodging the attack in the final moment. It helped him a lot that Tamara wasn't even half as fast as she wanted to be, even though her strike literally pulverized Sengo's chair.

With her initial attack failed, Sengo had a good opportunity to launch a furious counter-attack. He tried to quickly finish the fight with a series of swift jabs, but Tamara still had her momentum and easily evaded him.

The two broke up to gain a little distance. Tamara drew her golden war fans and Sengo also unsheathed his sabre. They grinned at each other menacingly for a moment, then they charged at the same time. They both knew that only one of them could leave this place alive, and the duel between them could potentially influence the future of the whole island.

When they clashed, it seemed that the whole world stopped for a moment. The two warriors soon united in a maelstrom of blades, as the swift war fans battled the heavy sabre. The two fought with such skill and speed that an average spectator would think that they were dancing.

Tamara had to admit, the thirteen years she spent on the island without any serious fighting actually made her much softer than she thought. She could defeat Sengo a long ago, but her moves grew more and more clumsy with each passing moment and she could feel her strength and stamina slowly leaking away.

On the other side of things, Sengo was in a perfect condition, and his attacks soon proved to be increasingly dangerous to Tamara. Luckily, his sabre was ineffective against the Kyoshi Warrior armour, and the few strikes that reached Tamara bounced off harmlessly from the steel bands. This forced Sengo to aim at her unarmoured parts, which in turn put her in an advantageous position. So far, her armour counterbalanced Tamara's decreasing performance, but she knew that this couldn't last forever.

She jumped up to a table, and kicked Sengo in the face. To her greatest surprise, her attack actually hit him, and the robust man staggered to a shelf, crushing it under his weight. The strike stunned him, and gave Tamara an opportunity to finish him off. She leaped to him and knelt into his stomach. This made Sengo buckle in pain, and his neck became vulnerable to a deadly strike.

But just as Tamara raised her war fan to kill him, Sengo suddenly regained his senses, and tossed Tamara aside. The war fan still hit him, cutting deeply into his side, but he barely noticed it. He attacked again, and just as Tamara recovered, she got a powerful punch to her face.

The blow sent her flying through the room, landing on a desk and smashing it with her body. A sharp pain pierced her side, and she knew that she had just got a broken rib or two. But she didn't have the time to ponder on her wounds, as Sengo rushed to her with his sabre ready to slash into her. She swallowed a pained scream, and tried to stand up…

Only to realize that she had gotten stuck in the remains of the desk. She couldn't move. She was immobilized and defenceless. And Sengo noticed it. He slowed down, and changed his determined charge into a casual walk.

"This went surprisingly easy." he said with a wicked grin on his face. "If I had known this, then I would probably have challenged you sooner."

Tamara didn't answer to his taunt, and only stared at him menacingly and made another futile attempt to free herself.

Her struggle made Sengo laugh. He stepped in front of her, towering above Tamara like a shadow of death. He raised his sabre to prepare for the finishing blow.

"And now Instructor Tamara…" he began.

"Instructor Tamara!" the girlish scream interrupted Sengo, and the doors of the room burst open, and to Tamara's greatest surprise, her young Kyoshi Warriors appeared. Pema from the main entrance, Okako and Nirmal from the back door and Kitara and Asha from the stairs, right behind Sengo.

They startled him for a moment, but as he looked around, he realized that the girls were late. The situation they found in the room confused them, and now they seemed to be too puzzled to do anything.

Sengo widened his smile, and looked right into Tamara's eyes.

"…And now Instructor Tamara, it is your time to die!"

Tamara closed her eyes. She was prepared to die, but not like this.

_Not in front of her girls!_

A huge thunder cracked through the air above the island, a final memento of the leaving storm.

Tamara could feel something heavy landing on her, and she released a pained scream as the pressure struck her broken ribs.

A warm fluid splashed on her face. She knew that it is blood.

And with that, it was over.


	15. Part 15 - The Kyoshi Warriors

She wasn't exactly sure if she fainted or not, but if she did, then it only lasted for a few moment. But for Tamara, it felt like an eternity.

But she wasn't dead. And that should be a good sign.

She heard a heavy panting on top of her and she could still feel the weight on her chest.

Tamara opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Nirmal, lying on her instructor, protecting Tamara with her own body. Her eyes were closed and her face was both terrified and determined.

"Nirmal?" Tamara's voice made her shudder, but she opened her eyes and looked at her. Her hazel eyes mirrored only confusion and a fading shadow of pure terror. "Are you alright?" She nodded, but she seemed very unsettled. Tamara stroked her hair, and this helped a little.

As she looked upwards, she caught Sengo. He was frozen in his striking position, but he dropped the sabre to the floor. His eyes were empty and lifeless. He was dead.

_But who killed him?_

Now this really frightened Tamara. The possibilities were rather limited, but she didn't want any of them to be the truth. Only one of the novices could do this.

_But who?_

As she looked to his left, she could see Okako. She had a Kyoshi Warrior longsword in her hand, and the blade was hilt-deep in Sengo's side. But her strike was too low, it couldn't be lethal. Okako seemed just as frightened as Nirmal, and Tamara could see her hands shaking on the hold of the sword.

On Sengo's right stood Pema. She also had a sword, but she pierced the striking arm with it. Probably that's why he dropped the sabre. But it was barely even a serious injury. Unlike the other girls, Pema seemed more desperate than anything else. It was clear that she didn't aim for the arm, but her rather amateurish strike missed its intended target.

As Tamara slowly glanced through this scene, a realization struck her. There was only one Kyoshi Warrior in her group who had the skill and the training to kill. And she had the weapon too, as Tamara herself gave it to her only a couple of hours ago…

A red line appeared on the width of Sengo's neck. Then suddenly, his head fell backwards, while his body tumbled forward, just barely missing Tamara.

And from behind him, a scared girl was revealed. She stared blankly in front of her, and her body was unnaturally stiff. She was in her final position, with her sword finishing a deadly swing.

There was only one Kyoshi Warrior who knew that their longsword was meant to be used with slashing moves and not piercing attacks.

"Kitara!" whispered Tamara. She carefully moved Nirmal aside, and finally freed herself from the trap of the wrecks with a single forceful move. She ran to Kitara, and hugged her.

The young girl was alarmingly unresponsive at first, but as Tamara tightened her embrace, she finally broke out in tears. She dropped her sword and hugged back, her grasp was as if she were trying to strangle Tamara.

"I'm so sorry!" whimpered Kitara, but her voice was barely audible from crying. "I'm so sorry! I didn't want to do this!" Tamara tried to calmingly hush her, but Kitara was on the verge of a catatonic state. Her body was shaking uncontrollably and her tears fell like rain to the blood-soaked floor.

This was the time when Suki and Kei appeared too. They stormed into the room from the main door, but they immediately stopped when they entered. As they ran their eyes over the scene, Tamara could see them reel for a moment.

"When I said 'Play with him a little!' I didn't mean this…" Noticed Kei with a blank voice.  
Suki walked to Tamara, and she seemed surprisingly disturbed.

"Instructor Tamara? Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

"Yes. Thanks to you, girls."

Nirmal, Asha and Kei began to check the decapitated corpse. Asha was quite unsure about his death. Tamara could hear her mumbling something about some Platypus-bear Man and how it was invulnerable to beheading.

"Suki, tell me, what are you doing here?" Her instructor's question snapped out Suki from her confusion immediately.

"We were looking for you. When we arrived at the harbour, Ulva warned us that you and a big, ill-favoured man were fighting in his inn. We planned to interrupt the fight and lure him out to open space where I and Kei could take him out…" She glanced at the decapitated body and then at the crying Kitara. "But I didn't want this."

"Don't worry, you did well." Her words eased Suki's mood somewhat. The poor girl looked like she was about to take responsibility for this mess. The other girls also began to gather together around Tamara and the still crying Kitara. "Now, you've all seen what it really means. To wield a sword. To deliver the ultimate justice with it." She paused for a little bit, to give time to the girls to absorb her words. "Don't feel pity for this man. Don't feel remorse. As a Warrior of Kyoshi, you should never be afraid to spill blood when the time comes. Do you understand?" She could see as the girls hardened their faces and nodded. Even Kitara stopped crying and muttered a 'yes'. "You all did well. I'm very proud to you all."

With that, all the girls joined the hug, comforting each other from the horror that they had just witnessed. They all thought that this is the end, and everything will be fine from now on.

Only Tamara knew that this is only the beginning.

The storm finally left Kyoshi Island, its dark mass slowly disappeared behind the horizon, yielding to the tender light of the springtime sun.

**The End**

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_**A.N.:**_ Thank you for reading, and hope you enjoyed the story! Please comment and review, all opinions are welcomed!


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